The A·chik Conscious Holistically Integrated Krima (ACHIK) has written to Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma to insist that the next Chairperson of the Meghalaya Public Service Commission (MPSC) be a member of the Garo community.
The last Chairperson was PR Marwein, who retired in January, of the Khasi-Pnar community. Following Marwein superannuation, Babynna T Sangma took over as Acting Chairperson until she too retired at the end of February. The state government recently appointed a Chairperson in charge of the MPSC and three members while a selection committee decides on the next full-time Chairperson. Badarius Shylla is holding the charge of MPSC while Aloysius Ch Marak, Lester Pathaw and Sanjive K Marak are the members.
ACHIK is demanding that the Chairperson be a Garo based on the “rotational principle and in restoration of the rightful balance”.
Since the inception of the MPSC, the Chairperson has been a member of the Khasi-Jaintia tribe on nine occasions and a Garo seven times. “This pattern clearly reflects an emerging disparity and the current move to once again appoint a Chairman from the Khasi-Jaintia category, immediately after one from the same group, would further deepen this imbalance and violate the principle of equity,” ACHIK stated.
The pressure group also rejected the argument being put about by some officials that the rotation of Chairperson should be Khasi, then Pnar and then Garo. ACHIK argued that the state reservation policy considers the Khasi-Pnar to be one category and Garos to be another, both of which receive 40 percent reservation in state jobs.
“The people of Meghalaya are not blind to such political manoeuvres,” it added. ACHIK also said that the High Court’s direction for a roster system to be implemented in the state would mean that the appointment of two back-to-back MPSC Chairpersons from the Khasi-Pnar community would be a violation of the court’s directives.
